For historians, Watling Street is well known as a Roman road. And now it has another claim to historical fame – in 2019/20 it became home to Britain’s most bashed railway bridge. It’s on the modern day A5, near Hinckley in Leicestershire, and was hit by trucks on no fewer than 25 occasions.
Bridge bashing is a serious issue. Figures from Network Rail show that, on average, five of Britain’s railway bridges are bashed every day of the year, causing half a million minutes of delays for rail passengers. It’s a costly mistake too. A bridge in Bath is another favourite for truck drivers and was hit nine times causing £29,000 of repair work.
“We’re urging HGV drivers to know the height of their vehicle,” says Tim Porter, Asset Engineer for Network Rail Wales & Western Region.
With that in mind, take a look at our ‘Bridge Bashing’ resource page which includes a host of reminders, checks and some advice on what to do if, heaven forbid, one of your vehicles hits a bridge.